


Worst Day of the Year

by TigerCat111



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerCat111/pseuds/TigerCat111
Summary: Len hates Valentine's Day for more than one reason. As this year proves to be just the same as--if not worse than--the rest, will someone come along and change his point of view?
Relationships: Fukase/Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Len/Kaito, Kagamine Rin/MAYU, Megurine Luka/Meiko, other relationships mentioned
Kudos: 10





	Worst Day of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> Note: In Japan, Valentine's Day is more for women to give gifts (especially chocolate) to men and declare their affection; on March 14, known as White Day, is the day where the recipients (usually men) of the gifts/affection are expected to return the favor. Essentially Reverse Valentine's Day.
> 
> The men in question are usually anybody affiliated with the woman, so family members (example: brothers) are expected to get gifts as well.
> 
> This story takes place on Valentine's Day itself.

_*Thoughts*_

"Speech"

* * *

* * *

_6-year-old Len Kagamine sat at his desk,_ _nervously_ _swinging his legs; it was Valentine's day, and so far none of the girls had given him anything._

_Rin usually gave him a gift at home, so he wasn't very concerned about that; however, all the other boys had received something from a girl._

_As the day progressed, his frown deepened and his mood worsened; although confusion was added in there when Rin received a box of chocolates and was giggling mischievously, making him wonder if she had stolen it._

_Unfortunately_ , _the other boys were not very kind._

_"Didn't get anything, Len? Haha!! Nobody loves you!!"_

_"Why would they? He's stupid!!"_

_"And ugly, too!! Look at his face!!"_

_The embarrassed blond held back tears as the other kids continued making fun of him; eventually Rin stepped in and shut them up, but that didn't make the young boy feel any less horrible._

* * *

_10-year-old Len Kagamine sat by himself as the other kids excitedly chatted amongst themselves, all talking about who had given them gifts._

_Rin hadn't wanted him to be too upset this year, so she had gone ahead and given him his chocolates at school; unfortunately, most of the other kids were able to figure that out, and had a good time laughing at him for it._

_He laid his head on his crossed arms, watching the other kids interact; everybody else, including Rin, seemed to have someone to spend time with._

_Somehow, he ended up as the person who didn't even have a_ _**friend** _ _to spend time with._

_*What did I do wrong...?*_

* * *

_12-year-old Len Kagamine sighed as he, yet again, had to scrub away various messages scrawled into his desk by his classmates._

_He was attempting to ignore the usual insults, such as "Loser" "Freak" "Stupid" "Pain in the Ass" "Disgusting" and the like, but one message caught his eye._

_"Happy Valentine's, Kagamine!! Have fun dying alone!!"_

_Len stayed still for a moment, staring at it; he blinked away the tears stinging his eyes._

_That is, until he saw the message under it, looking like it was written by someone else._

_"Honestly, you'd be doing us all a favor. Go die."_

_This time, he had to rub his eyes to keep the tears from falling; unfortunately, it didn't work._

* * *

15-year-old Kagamine Len was busy in his bed, talking some nonsense in his sleep.

"LEN!! GET UP OR WE'RE GONNA BE LATE, YA TWAT!!"

Rin punctuated her sentence by slamming a pillow onto her younger brother's head; the male stirred, groaning and blinking awake.

"Riiiiiiiin...wanna sleep s'more...go away..."

"Get up, you little twat!! It's Friday!!"

After being smacked again, Len finally sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Okay, okay...geez..."

"What the hell did you do with your alarm this time?" She asked, dropping down and checking under his bed.

She pulled out the remains; the glass on the front was completely shattered.

"...See, this is why I'm scared of you setting a phone alarm."

"Just get out so I can get dressed," he mumbled, climbing out of his bed; he was clad in his banana-print pajamas and his hair was still down, making him look exactly like Rin.

"Hurry up! We don't have a lot of time!" She snapped, exiting his room.

Gathering up his clothes, he quickly changed before heading to the hallway bathroom; after checking the time, he decided to do a simpler version of his typical hairstyle so that he had time to brush his teeth and get his skincare routine in.

After doing that, he headed downstairs; Rin was being extra annoying today, so he grabbed a banana for the road.

However, he paused, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close, and taking a big whiff of her scent.

"Ew, Len!! Stop being a creep!!"

"I'm just checking...oh no."

"Ugh, _what?_ "

"Is that your Valentine's Day perfume? The one you _only_ wear on Valentine's Day?"

"Oh gosh, somebody get this man a medal, he just solved the greatest mystery of all time!!" Rin rolled her eyes. "No shit, sherlock."

"But why are you wearing it today...?"

Rin craned her head around, giving him a blank look.

She proceeded to pull out her phone and shove it in his face.

The date read February 14--

Len let out an annoyed groan and let go of Rin, sending her stumbling and falling to the floor.

"Ugh, that's _today?_ "

"Yes, dimwit. Why do you think I'm rushing you?"

"Because your homeroom teacher said that if you're late one more time you get a detention? And most of those tardies are from you and Mayu making out behind the school?"

"Uh, _no._ I wanna see Mayu!!"

"What Mayu _got_ you?"

"Well, I do wear the shorts in this relationship--but yeah, we agreed she'd lead on Valentine's Day and I'd lead on White Day. Now hurry up!!"

* * *

The annoyed Twins were walking to school when Len's phone began ringing.

Recognizing "Ten Faced" playing, he quickly pulled it out and answered.

"Gumi!! Thank God!! I forgot today was Valentine's Day!! Are we still on for our tradition tonight?"

Len had met Gumi when they were 11; after what happened on his 12th Valentine's day, they had started a tradition where Len went to her house and spent the night, and they played video games, watched sad movies, and cried.

Unfortunately, Gumi had moved to the next town over last year, so they weren't able to spend as much time together; luckily, their traditions helped.

" _Hey Len...that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about_..."

His relief turned into a frown.

"Wait, what? What's wrong?"

There was a sigh from the other end.

" _My sister decided that she was tired of me always sitting around the house, especially on days like today, so she set me up on a blind date_."

"Wha--seriously?!"

The queen sighed again.

" _Unfortunately. I tried to argue with her but apparently she organized this like a month ago and decided not to tell me until today so I couldn't cancel."_

"Dangit..."

" _Sorry, Len, but you know how Sonika is. If I so much as try to get out of this I'll never hear the end of it_."

"It's okay, Gumi-chan...at least try to have fun, okay?"

" _'Try' is the key word. Bye, hope you have at least a somewhat good day_."

"You too. Bye, Gumi."

* * *

The moment Len set foot inside of the school, he felt like puking.

Valentine's Day seemed to be some sort of virus; everybody had it, and it was making them all act like idiots (in some cases, just moreso than usual).

As he walked down the hallway, he was forced to bear witness to several couples' existence.

Teto approached IA at her locker; when the long-haired girl turned around, she was gifted with a heart-shaped box of Honmei Choco with a pink rose taped to the front.

"Hi, IA-chan...happy Valentine's Day!!"

The redhead was blushing quite a bit; IA gave her a sweet smile, pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you, Teto, I love you!!"

That made her blush even more.

Len passed by Ars and Yohio; Ars dumped a heart-shaped box into the blond's hands.

"Happy Valentine's, bro. No homo."

Yohio took a close look at the box.

"Ars, you literally got me Honmei Choco. Isn't that romantic chocolate?"

"Uh..." Ars stuttered. "I, uh, got the wrong one?"

"You wrote 'I love you more than anything, including my dumbass siblings'." Yohio deadpanned.

"...Platonically."

"If he's wearing socks, it's not gay!!" Len called out as he passed.

Yohio turned back to his best friend, who had begun sweating.

"Okay, so you're gonna find this hilarious..."

"I'm sure I'll be on the floor laughing."

"So...I was kind of out of clean socks this morning..."

Len spared a glance at Haku as she nervously approached Mikuo, Miku's younger brother; he recalled that Mikuo had been in love with the girl since, like, 7th grade, and had finally worked up the courage to ask her out a month ago.

"M-Morning, Mikuo..."

Blushing, she extended a small box of homade chocolate to him.

The tealette's face broke into a wide grin as he took it.

"Thanks, babe!! Oh, man, these look soooo good..."

She blushed even harder at that, twirling a stray hair.

"I hope you like them..."

Len felt his eye twitch as he continued through the halls.

* * *

Despite getting into his classroom, that gave him no relief from the tedious holiday occuring around him.

Some people found gifts on their desks, others approached classmates, and some students went out of their way to come into the class despite it not being their classroom at the time, such as Nekomura Iroha.

Said girl plowed her way into the room; much to Len's surprise, she approached Akita Neru, Miku's half-sister, who was on her phone and paying nobody any mind.

"Hey, Baka!!"

Neru glanced up to see who was being addressed; Iroha proceeded to storm over, slap her across the face, and then dump two boxes of Honmei Choco and a bouquet of roses into her arms.

"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, JERK!!"

The brunette then ran from the room, blushing furiously at her "confession"; everyone stared at Neru, who was completely dumbfounded.

"What the hell just happened...?"

Len turned his attention away after that; he realized that he did, in fact, have a present on his desk.

Said present was the fact that for once, his desk was clean, and not covered in horrendous black writings full of insults, much to his surprise.

Speaking of surprises, he yelped as someone scooped him up from behind, arms around his torso, and proceeded to hug the life out of him like a squeaky toy.

"Morning, Len-kun!!"

Len realized, relief washing over him.

"Hi, Kaito."

Noticing Len's flat tone, Kaito frowned; he hugged the younger boy more gently, but firm enough to be comforting.

"What's wrong? Were Dell and Rei messing with you again? Was Rin being a jerk? Was--"

"Rin's always a jerk, Kai." Len rolled his eyes. "But no, it's not either of those--well, not yet, anyways. I just don't like Valentine's Day."

"Oh, yeah...I forgot..."

Despite knowing Len for about two years now, Kaito realized he had never asked why Len disliked the holiday so much; unfortunately, he wasn't given the chance at that moment, as the teacher walked in and yelled at everyone to sit down.

Placing Len on the floor, Kaito walked to his seat, right next to him; throughout the entire hour, he found himself paying far less attention to the lesson and more to the cranky boy on his right.

_*He's so cute, even when he's annoyed...*_

* * *

As the day dragged on and on, Len found himself with the inherent desire to strangle someone.

Whether it was Galaco on the phone gushing over her long-distance boyfriend Zeeu, watching Miki's terrible flirting somehow landing her a date with Mikoto, or everybody avoiding Rin and Mayu since everyone was scared of walking in on them making out--all graded on Len's psyche, causing him to wish he had contracted some fatal disease and died that morning.

Or at least one that would have let him stay in bed.

He spotted Miku eagerly running down the hallway; he watched as she approached Fukase, who was talking to Flower and Piko.

"...So yeah, that's why I had to get Point a bigger cage."

"Wow."

"Fukase~!!"

The memelord turned around only to be tackled by Miku.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Fuku~!!"

She pulled away from the heavily blushing redhead and extended her crudely-carved heart-shaped box.

"I made these myself!!"

A look of dread crossed both Flower and Piko's faces; Len bit his lower lip and resisted a laugh.

_*Oh man, poor Fukase...*_

A look of fear crossed Fukase's face as he realized, but he quickly covered it up with a wide smile.

"Thanks, Princess!! We still on for our date tonight?"

"Duh!! But I wanna make sure you like my chocolates first!!"

Flower resisted the urge to bust out laughing while Piko feared for his friend's health.

Len decided to stay and watch this part, as it was actually interesting.

Another brief look of fear crossed the recipient's face, but he swallowed and opened the box, pulling out a piece.

He shoved it in his mouth and began chewing hard; Len could see his eyes starting to water as painful-sounding crunches echoed in the hall.

Fukase glanced at Miku's hopeful face; he shakily gave her a double thumbs up.

She squealed in happiness and hugged him.

"I'm so happy you like them!! I'll see you tonight, 'kay?"

She pecked his cheek and ran off.

Fukase wildly gestured at Piko, who ran into a classroom and returned with the trash can.

Fukase began vomiting into it; Piko rubbed his back while Flower laughed.

"Damn, was it that bad? Or are you weak?"

After a few more coughs, Fukase set the can down.

"That thing tasted like death." He shuddered. "It somehow had every flavor but no flavor."

"She gave me some candy she made, once," Piko recalled. "It was somehow too salty, yet not salty enough..."

"She gave me cookies on my birthday," Flower snickered. "I've heard she can't cook but nobody has the guts to tell her, so I gave them to Oliver."

"What happened?" Piko sighed. 

"I'm officially banned from going inside his house. Fucking Yohio..."

She shrugged.

"But hey, if the idol thing doesn't work out, she can always get a career in making shitty prison food!!"

After Piko managed to restrain Fukase from attacking Flower over insulting his girlfriend, Len eventually turned his attention away as they started talking about that night; Piko had a date with Hime, and Flower was going out with Yukari.

As he headed down another hall, the last two people he wanted to see took notice of him.

Dell Honne and Rei Kagene had been whispering about something; however, upon seeing him, they quickly stopped and turned into their usual selves.

"Hey Kagamine!! Anybody finally lower their standards enough to put up with you?" Dell sneered as he walked over.

"They'd have to start digging in the ground if they wanted to date him, Dell." Rei followed.

Len crossed his arms; ignoring the small pang in his heart at the insults, he looked away.

"Have either of you gotten dates?" He snapped. 

"Yes, actually," Rei snorted. "But that's none of your business."

"Then how's it yours if I got one or not?" He murmured, getting more annoyed rather than upset like usual.

"Trying to be sassy today?" Dell snapped, getting in the blond's face and giving him a hard shove. "Because I'll gladly shut your damn mouth!"

Len stumbled back, loosing his footing and falling; he hit the ground with a groan.

Dell towered over him, swinging his leg and sending a hard kick to the victim's stomach.

When Len cried out and clutched his stomach, Dell crouched down, getting in his face again.

"Did that hurt? I hope so, considering you're so weak."

"Weak and pathetic," Rei backed him up.

"Exactly. That's why nobody fucking likes you. People just pretend--for what reason I'll never know."

"Pity?"

"Ha, yeah, pity. But that's why you'll never get a girlfriend--you're pathetic, and nobody wants you. You might as well go kill yourself--"

"Hey!! Back off!!"

Dell looked up, then let out a groan as he stood up, backing away.

"Oh great, the fucking blackbelt's here to save the day."

Kaito, glaring angrily at the two, came running over, placing himself between Len and his bullies.

"What the hell do you think your doing?!" He roared angrily. 

"Just putting the freak in his place," Dell snapped back.

Kaito snarled at him, balling his fists and stepping closer.

"Len is not a freak. Quite frankly, you two are the ones who need to be put in your place--"

He raised his fist, making them back up.

"What? Can't take what you dish out?"

Dell growled, but Rei grabbed his arm.

"Ugh, c'mon Dell. This isn't worth it. Just let him wallow with the loser until he gets bored of him."

Dell rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever." 

After one last glare at Len, the two left; Kaito immediately turned around and helped him up.

"You okay, Len? How badly did they hurt you?"

The younger stumbled a little, but held onto Kaito.

"Not much...Dell just pushed me down and kicked me. I guess I'm just a little shaken up...thanks for helping me out."

The bluenette sighed and pulled him into a hug.

"Sorry I wasn't there sooner. I got kinda...held up."

"Kai, it's fine--"

He gave a small shriek as the older boy wrapped his arms tighter around the younger's small frame, lifting him into the air.

"There!! Now I can make sure you're safe while we go to lunch!!"

"Kaito--"

"No buts!! Keeping you safe!!" 

As the taller began walking, he overhead Len muttering to himself.

" _Bakit perpekto ang taong ito? Sobrang mapagkalinga? Ako ang huling taong karapat-dapat dito._.."

"Tagalog? Don't want me hearing how awesome you think I am? I'm hurt, Len." Kaito teased.

Len smacked him over the back of the head.

"Shut up and take me to the food, Bakaito."

"As you wish, Sir Crankypants."

Kaito smiled despite the extra slap he received, happy to at least have distracted Len.

* * *

Luckily Len had convinced Kaito to put him down before they went outside for Lunch; he was not in the mood for Rin's teasing.

They made it to their table, where Rin, Miku, Meiko, and Luka were sitting.

The girls all looked up as the two approached; the boys took their seats.

After greetings were exchanged, Len's mood turned sour again at the topic of conversation.

Valentine's Day plans.

"Gakupo's throwin' a party for all the seniors, so Luka and I are goin' to that." Meiko explained.

"I...really don't think we should," Luka murmured. "Don't you remember what happened at his New Year's Party?"

"Which one?"

"The one from a month ago."

"Was that the one where some idiot dumped liquified cocaine int' the drinks after some other idiot spiked 'em and we all got drugged _and_ drunk at the same time?"

"No, that was last year. Last month was the one where someone lined the firewood with marijuana and got everyone high."

Len practically choked on his sandwich, Miku's jaw dropped, and Rin and Kaito delivered yells of "Wait, what?!" and "Damn, I wanna go to those parties!!".

"Ah, right, we never told you guys about those." Meiko mused.

"There's a sort of... _unspoken rule_ that whatever happens at a Gackt house party stays at a Gackt house party." Luka sheepishly added.

"And my point, Luka, is that we can' skip out!! Everybody in our grade always goes t' the stupid things, and after we graduate we won' go t' any more!! We gotta!!"

"You just don't want to be by yourself, do you?"

"I'm never alone when my gracious an' wonderful girlfriend is with me t' make my life better." Meiko made puppy eyes at her.

"Where is she, then?" Luka asked, looking around.

"LUKA!!"

"I'm just joking." The pinkette smirked.

As the two joined hands and stared at each other lovingly, Miku reached in her bag and pulled out a box.

"Hey guys, when I was making chocolate last night, I accidentally had extra! You guys want it?"

Dread immediately spread across everyone at the table.

After a moment, Rin decided to be the noble sacrifice and take one.

Len grimaced as she chewed, pressing her hands to keep herself from spitting it out; luckily, she managed to make it look like she was trying to not be messy, sparing Miku's feelings.

The pigtail ambassador was insanely pleased.

"Aren't they good? Fukase almost cried from how good they were!!"

 _*Or his reminder of the inevitably of death.*_ Len thought with another grimace.

"Speaking of Fukase, we're going on a date tonight!! We're gonna go to a nice restaurant, maybe hit the beach..."

As Miku droned on about that, Len tuned her out and resisted the urge to laugh as Rin chugged her entire bottle of orange juice in an attempt to was the taste out.

She grabbed her phone; after a minute, his chimed.

He checked it.

_"I think I've tasted bleach that tasted better than that."_

_"You've tasted bleach?"_

_"Don't question me, Twat."_

He pocketed his phone with an eye roll; Miku had finished speaking, prompting Rin to remember something.

"Oh, Len, Mayu's coming over tonight, so you have to beat it."

That snapped him to attention.

"Wait, what?! Rin!! You know Gumi cancelled on me this morning!!"

"So? Find somewhere else to watch your dumb sad movies."

"Can't you find somewhere else to try and fuck your girlfriend?!"

"I stopped _trying,_ thank you very much!!"

"Why, did you actually lose your virginity or did she--"

"Okay, you two, calm down," Luka intervened, blushing a little. "Rin, you can't just kick Len out of your own house--"

"I just did!!"

"I WILL CLIMB THE TREE IN OUR BACKYARD--"

"Len!!" Kaito cut in. "Why don't you just stay at my place?"

"Uh...Kai, you know I like hanging out with you, but are all 12 of your brothers gonna be home?" Len asked with discomfort. "No offense, but...Nigaito's always staring at me, Kizaito's always flirting with me and I think he keeps staring at my ass, Daito and Mokaito keep getting into fights over who gets to talk to me, Taito follows me around and talks to himself and sometimes I hear _weird_ bits of what he's saying, Kikaito is always trying to feed me, for some reason I always walk in on Baito and Kageito doing some weird occult ritual and they keep inviting me to join them _"for true enlightenment and spirituality to shed the mortal plane and express my true form"_ , it honestly feels like Zeito and Xaito go out of their way to be super creepy, and I'm 90% sure Akaito tried to feel me up last time I came over. Not to mention Musaito and your sisters always talking about "cute" I am and trying to smother me!! I got like three bruises once from them _pinching my cheeks!!_ "

The others stared while Kaito silently swore to murder Akaito first.

"So that's why you never spend the night anymore..."

"Pretty much."

Kaito cleared his throat.

"Well, luckily most of them are going out tonight, and I can probably get rid of the rest of them for a while. Besides, do you really wanna be in the same house as Rin and Mayu for the entire night?"

Len pondered that with disgust.

"Not really...okay, fine. I'll go home and grab my stuff after school then come over."

The grin that spread on Kaito's face could light up a whole room.

"Great!!"

Just as Len started finishing his sandwich, he overheard Rin muttering to herself, giggling.

"Mmm, if all 12 of them want Len, then maybe they can share~"

Kaito looked deeply offended, Miku's jaw dropped, Meiko facepalmed, Luka covered her blushing face, and Len choked on his sandwich again.

"RIN!! GROSS!!" He bellowed after swallowing.

"No, it's kinky," She giggled.

"How do people think I'm the horny one? Can someone please explain that?"

"I thought you were a lesbian, Rin." Miku frowned.

"I am. But I'm also a fujoshi."

"Oh... _oh_."

"Hey Len, you should ask one of them to be your Valentine," Rin purred with a smirk at her brother.

"Absolutely not." Len snapped with narrowed eyes.

"Aw, why not? You don't have one anyways, and it looks like the entire Shion family has a thing for you--"

"Kaito probably doesn't. Right, Kai?"

Kaito stammered, unable to give a straight (or in this case, gay) answer.

"See? He doesn't know how to spare my feelings."

"You said Akaito tried to feel you up, right? After I kill him, maybe you can ask him out--"

"I wouldn't do that," Kaito hurriedly cut in. "He's insane."

"Hon, you're all insane." Meiko snorted.

"My point still stands. He's...one of the worse off."

"Either way, if I were gonna ask anybody out it definitely wouldn't be today," The annoyed blond snapped. 

"Oh, right," Miku mused. "Isn't today, like, your least favorite day of the year or something?"

"Aside from days that end in "y", yes." Len replied. 

"Geesh, somebody's emo today." Rin rolled her eyes. "Maybe that's why you've never had a Valentine--"

"Wait, you've _never_ had one?" Kaito frowned.

"No." The sophomore deadpanned. "Not once."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Len." Luka offered sympathetically.

"It's fine. It opened my eyes, really."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Meiko asked, lost.

"It's simple, really. You know how people say Christmas is a corporate holiday used to trick people into overspending and wasting time?"

Nods all around, prompting him to continue.

"They should actually be saying that about Valentine's day, since it manipulates people into buying ridiculous amounts of chocolate, and flowers, and all that romantic stuff; not to mention that it preys on people's guilt of needing to show their love in some "extravagant" way because if they don't, it might damage their relationship since their significant other might get upset.

"It also preys on single people, putting the pressure of _"Why don't you have anybody? Why aren't you loved? You don't love anybody?"_ on them. It's like measuring your worth on whether or not you're in a romantic relationship. And honestly, does anybody want their worth measured on whether or not you're alone?"

That made everyone get quiet; Kaito frowned as he began to think.

"Not to mention it kills people."

That snapped them all back to reality.

"Okay, now you're just bein' dumb--" Meiko rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious!!"

He turned to Miku.

"Miku, what's the best part about Holidays?"

"Spending time with friends and family?" She blinked.

"No--well, yeah, but lemme rephrase that. What's the best part about shopping for the holidays?"

"Oh that's easy," She chuckled. "Everything goes on sale the day after."

"Exactly. People go nuts over those sales, right?"

"My cousins, my siblings, and I all go camping the night before Black Friday," She deadpanned. "It's basically a family holiday. Zatsune got into a fistfight with a professional boxer over a flat screen TV once."

"Exactly--wait, seriously?"

"Mhm." She nodded. "We're considering inviting our lovers along this year. Kind of like bringing your boyfriend to a family cookout, you know?"

"Uh...right. Well, let me tell you guys a story."

He placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands, eyes looking dead.

"Two years ago, we had a neighbor move in. She was this old Russian Lady who screamed at everybody who came near her but liked me and Rin for some reason."

"Old Lady Nadenka? Damn, I forgot about her." Rin remembered.

"Yep. She made some good cookies. And told us a lot about Russia. I think. Her Japanese was kinda off. Anyways..."

He continued his story.

"Old Lady Nadenka's favorite thing about Japan was chocolate. She loved chocolate. Chocolate would get you on her good side in an instant. Well, Valentine's day rolls along, and guess what she does the day after?"

"Goes to the sales?" Luka guessed.

"Yep. Well, the next day, the police and an ambulance are at her house. You know what happened?"

He abruptly lurched up, slamming his hands on the table and startling everyone but Rin.

"SHE DIED!!"

"What the-- _how?!_ " Meiko exclaimed.

"Apparently she'd developed some kind of diabetes, and since she hadn't been to the doctor's in a while she didn't know." He replied, a little softer. "All the chocolate she ate gave her a heart attack. She lived alone, so nobody knew until someone eventually went to check on her."

He sat back down.

"Moral of the story: Valentine's Day is a killer."

Miku leaned over to Rin.

"Is he mentally okay?" She whispered.

"I've been 90% sure he's clinically insane since we were 5," Rin replied. "I just can't afford to actually get him checked."

"Also, it makes people act like _that_ ," Len deadpanned again, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"GAKUPO-SAN, MARRY ME!!"

"NO GAKUPO-SAN, MARRY ME INSTEAD!!"

"I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THEY DO, GAKUPO!!"

"I'M A DUDE, GAKUPO!! WE HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN THEY DO!!"

Gakupo was enjoying all the attention as girls (and that one dude) swarmed him, eventually fighting each other.

"...Okay, I'll give you that one." Luka shook her head.

"Barely." Meiko snorted.

"The only thing that makes Gakupo attractive is his hair," Kaito rolled his eyes. "Without that, he just looks like a really tall, buff nerd."

The others stared at him.

"What? Someone had to say it."

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch; the group said their goodbyes and began to disperse.

Kaito started to follow Len, but Meiko held him back.

"Hold up, Kaito. Luka and I gotta talk to ya for a second."

"Alright, what's up?" He asked, turning to them.

"Kaito, are you still sure you want to do this today?" Luka asked with a small frown. "Len doesn't seem...in that great of a mood for something like this..."

"Honestly, he makes me want to do it _more_ ," Kaito replied sadly.

"Wait, what? Why?" Meiko asked.

"You two heard him, he's _never_ had a Valentine, and from the sound of it, a good Valentine's Day. Plus..."

He shifted his feet.

"I think it's messing with his self esteem. I mean, you guys heard all that stuff he mentioned about self worth depending on relationships, right?"

"That was...oddly specific," Luka reasoned while Meiko nodded along.

"Yeah...plus, you know he's got it kinda rough. So, yes, I still want to do it tonight. Besides, Gumi having to cancel was way more convenient than me having to convince him to come to my place instead!!"

"Alright, alright, we get the point. Your place at six?" 

"Sure. I'll tell Len to come around seven. Is that enough time?"

"Probably."

"We can always come earlier if the need be," Luka offered, earning a nod from the Junior.

"Thanks, girls. I _really_ appreciate your help."

* * *

Eventually, Len's sickening day was over, and he was exiting the school; unfortunately, he was still witness to a few happy couples.

Flower climbed on the backed of Yukari's motorcycle, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist; Yukari grinned, and the two helmet-wearing girls rode off onto the road and away from the school.

The same thing happened with Teto and IA, although Teto was far more scared of IA's motorcycle than Flower; IA eventually coaxed her into the side car she'd bought and drove away, squealing girlfriend and all.

Neru ran up to Iroha before she left; the two walked away and began talking.

Ars and Yohio argued all the way to Yohio's car, and probably all the way to Oliver's middle school.

Kagene Rui linked arms with Peke, flirting relentlessly with the mute.

Len felt a hard shove to his back, sending him falling to the concrete; he managed to sheild his face, but still felt pain in his arms and side.

"Have a nice day, _freak_." Dell snapped as he and Rei walked by, snickering.

Len looked up, suddenly confused; Rei climbed into the passenger seat of Dell's car while Dell got into the driver's seat, and the two were off.

_*Wait, doesn't Rei usually walk home with Rui? Why's he going with Dell?*_

"Are you alright?"

A flat but concerned voice came from above him, prompting him to look up.

Zatsune Miku, Hatsune Miku's cousin, stood above him; she leaned down and extended a hand.

He took it; the black-haired girl pulled him up.

Zatsune looked him over to make sure he wasn't bleeding.

"Are you okay? That was a hard fall," She asked in her low-pitched voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Probably just a couple of bruises..." He replied.

The older girl nodded; after a moment, she reached out and ruffled his hair.

"ZAT- _SUNE!!_ WHERE IS MY KAWAII KAWAII DESU DESU SWEETUMS?!"

Len flinched at the ear-grading voice that rang out; Zatsune turned away with a small smile.

Kagami Kawaiine--Gakupo's absolutely terrifying sister--sprinted over, her pink--and somehow tattooed--hair billowing behind her.

"Hi, Kagami. I was just helping Len-kun up."

The elder creature's piercing gaze shot through his soul.

"Uh, h-hi, Kagami-chan. You look very...um...kawaii today."

That brought a smile to the creature's face.

"Ah, thank you, you kawaii desu desu boy!!"

She grabbed Zatsune's hand.

"Come on, desu desu!! We have a kawaii date waiting for us!!"

Zatsune nodded, then looked at Len.

"Take care, Len-kun."

Hand in hand, the two girls headed off, Len watching them go.

 _*What an odd couple,*_ He thought to himself.

* * *

"RIN!! I'M GOING TO KAITO'S!! ARE YOU GONNA COME SAY BYE OR NOT?!"

"ONE SECOND, YOU IMPATIENT TWAT!!"

He sighed. 

_*My gravestone's gonna say "He was a good person, a wonderful friend, and a twat", isn't it?*_

Eventually, Rin came down; she was clad in a gorgeous red dress and black heels, hair styled with a braid pinning the back up, and a small necklace with an axe and a tangerine charms.

Len stared.

"Where did you get that dress?"

"Last time Miku and I went shopping, I knew I _had_ to have it." She replied. "Red is Mayu's favorite color, so I figured I'd wear it tonight."

She tossed her arms around him, giving him a squeeze.

"Have fun, don't die, and use protection, okay?"

"I should be telling _you_ that--"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Bye!!"

She proceeded to shove him out the door and lock him out.

Len rolled his eyes, adjusting his bag and heading off.

* * *

"Do I look okay?" Kaito asked, tugging at his collar. 

Luka finished setting up the candles and walked over to him, checking him over.

She reached up and adjusted his collar.

"You look great, Kaito." She smiled encouragingly.

The male was clad in a long purple overcoat with a purple suit underneath; he called it his "Mysterious Butterfly" look.

"Are you sure? Do you think this is too much? Should I have worn my Guilty outfit instead--"

"Guilty is too sexy, that sends the wrong message for a firs' date." Meiko quipped. "Gotta take it slow."

"She's right--wait, did you just call him sexy?"

"Nowhere near as sexy as you, babe." Meiko winked.

"...Thank you."

"Um, girls, I hate to interrupt, but it's 6:55, he'll probably be here soon--"

"Ah shit, c'mon Luka!! We'll be late for the party."

Luka sighed.

"Bye, Kaito. Good luck."

"Lots o' luck, hon. Knock 'im dead." Meiko waved as they exited.

"Thanks!!" He called, glancing around.

_*I definitely need it...*_

* * *

" _Buta ni natte yeah yeah, gomi mamire no hakidame ni~_

 _Tobikome yeah yeah, fuku mo kazari mo hoppotte_ ~"

Len sang to himself as he approached Kaito's house.

He noticed two figures on the opposite side of the street.

His jaw dropped as he realized it was Dell and Rei, holding hands.

"You owe me so much on White Day," Rei said. 

"How does straight cash sound?" Dell replied, far too emotionally challenged to repay such a good date as well as Rei had.

"Perfect. Money sounds perfect. I'll take large bills, please. Lots of them."

"I'll try."

"Would you like to be single March 15?"

"Okay, okay..."

Len gawked...then snapped a picture for blackmail (luckily, his flash was off) before sprinting the rest of the way to Kaito's.

Upon getting there, he caught his breath, then walked to the door.

After knocking, he waited a moment; his phone buzzed.

Confused, he checked it; he found a message from Kaito.

_"It's open, come on in :) ;)"_

The blond raised a brow in confusion, but opened the door nonetheless.

* * *

Len gawked at the sight before him.

Small flower petals made a path into the living room, where a table had been set up; candles were organized in a heart shape around a small dinner.

Kaito stood in the middle of the room, clutching a small box and looking nervous.

He swallowed.

"Hi, Len..."

Len's mouth attempted to move and form words, but to no avail.

"I, uh, know this is kind of sudden, but..."

He took a deep breath and took a step forward.

"I know you don't like Valentine's Day...I get it. It makes you upset, right? It makes you feel...worthless? Because you've never had anyone...you've always been alone?"

Kaito felt a pang in his heart as he said the words; he felt even worse as Len's eyes widened in recognition.

"Well...I don't think that."

He took another deep breath.

"I think you're worth a lot, Len. You're kind, and sweet...you help others when they need it--even if they've treated you wrong, which is a hard thing to do...you're usually a ball of sunshine, always bringing a smile to my--and others' faces..."

He let out a dreamy sigh.

"You have the confidence to be yourself, even when others put you down...I really admire that, Len."

He blushed a little.

"Also...you're adorable. You know how my sisters and Musaito always fawn over how cute you are? Well...I have to resist the urge to squeeze you sometimes."

He gave a nervous chuckle, slowly closing the distance between them.

He gently grasped Len's hand in both of his.

"Len...I really like you. You're my best friend, but...maybe you wouldn't mind if we were more?"

He held his breath, a hopeful look in his eyes.

Len's brain, however, was becoming very overloaded with information.

_*Kaito likes me...?! What...?! He thinks I'm cute...?! He actually likes my personality...?! He thinks I'm...worth...*_

He suddenly felt dizzy.

Very dizzy.

He started to sway, causing Kaito to frown worriedly.

"Len? What's wrong?"

The younger gave no response; he simply stumbled, then fell back.

"Len!!"

Kaito dived, catching Len before he hit the ground.

* * *

Loud music blasted several windows into tiny pieces, drowning out the various screams and chaos the party contained.

Meiko stumbled into the backyard; many others were also out there, most of them near or in the large pool.

Meiko felt a vibration from within her panties; ripping Luka's skirt from her waist, she took her panties off.

Her phone landed on the ground; she picked it up and managed to answer through fumbling fingers.

"HELLO?!"

A sobbing mess was heard on the other end.

" _MEIKO!! LEN PASSED OUT!!_ "

"EH?! WHO?!"

" _LEN!! I DID EVERYTHING I PLANNED AND HE **PASSED OUT!!** I COULD'VE KILLED HIM!!_"

"HELL YEAH!! KILL THE OPPRESSION!!"

" _I--WHAT?!_ "

"OPPRESSION CAUSES SOCIETAL RIFTS!! NEVER CATER T' THE OPPRESSION!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

She then leaped into the pool, short-circuiting her phone and ending the call.

* * *

Len stirred, eyes slowly fluttering open.

He found himself on a large bed; confusion overtook him until the memories of what happened returned.

_*Oh...right...Kaito...*_

The sound of sniffing came from beside him, prompting him to roll over.

Kaito was sitting next to him, knees pulled up to his face with his arms wrapped around them.

He shuddered, whimpering.

The blond frowned.

"Kaito...?"

The older boy jumped; upon seeing that Len was awake, a smile spread across his tear-stained face.

" _Len!!_ You're okay!!"

He pounced on the smaller boy, who cried out in surprise; he found himself squeezed and smothered by Kaito.

"I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to upset you!! Or--uh--shock you? Whatever happened back there..."

Len made a muffled noise, but to no avail.

"I was just so excited, and nervous, and I've been planning this for so long, and I--I--"

Len managed to get a hand free and tap Kaito's side.

"What? Oh--oh, sorry!!"

He rolled off; his friend took a deep breath.

"Sorry..."

Len looked back at Kaito; he looked like a puppy in the rain that just got kicked into a gutter.

"Kai...why?"

The bluenette looked up.

"Why what?"

He shifted, looking away.

"Why would you...like me?"

The elder frowned again.

"Len, I told you--"

"I know, I heard all that, but..."

He found himself rolling over, his back to Kaito.

"Why? There's plenty of other people in the world like me... there's plenty of people that deserve your love. Plenty of people...worth it..."

He sniffed.

_"you're pathetic, and nobody wants you. You might as well go kill yourself"_

Dell's words echoed in his mind, causing more tears to sting his eyes.

"I'm just a stupid, pathetic kid who's always alone..."

Feeling his heart breaking into a million pieces, Kaito crawled over, wrapping his arms around Len's torso and pulling him close.

"No, Len, you're wrong. There's other people in the world, but...none of them are, or ever will be, _you_. And you are _not_ stupid or pathetic. You are a special, wonderful, kind, sweet, generous, adorable, funny, amazing person, and nobody could ever replace you."

He pressed his face into soft blond hair.

"To me, Len, you're worth more than all the money and ice cream in the world..."

He squeezed a little.

"And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. My life wouldn't be the same without you. You showed me how to have fun without always being stressed because of my siblings, you always know how to cheer me up when I'm down, we always do really crazy things together...that's just the tip of the iceberg, Len. That's why... that's why I love you, Len. Because you're _you._ "

He could feel the smaller frame start to tremble; he flipped over, hugging Kaito back, tears starting to fall.

"...You're being stupid, Kaito." He murmured, hiccuping.

"We always act stupid together, don't we?" He smiled.

"Y-Yeah...we do, don't we..."

Kaito gently ran a hand through Len's hair.

"If you want, my offer still stands...I wanted us to be more than friends, and since we're partners in crime...we could be partners in everything?"

Len looked up, his reddening eyes matching Kaito's red--but clearing up--eyes.

"...I...I think I'd like that, Kai." He smiled.

Smiling, Kaito bent down, kissing Len's forehead.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Len."

"...Yeah...Happy Valentine's, Kai."

**Author's Note:**

> Holy crap, that took way longer than intended. I hope it was decent at least.
> 
> So I may have taken a bit of advantage of this for showing off ships...not sorry lol.
> 
> Len was singing "Becoming Pigs, Yeah Yeah" by Neru on his way to Kaito's house. It's a bop and I highly recommend it, but I'm also insanely Neru biased XD
> 
> Mysterious Butterfly is an actual Kaito module and one of my favorites.
> 
> I'm sorry about the way I wrote Meiko...if you read my stories for other fandoms (shameless plug: check out my other accounts on Fanfiction.net, Fimfiction, and Wattpad lol) you'd know that I tend to write characters--or a least a main character--with some kind of accent. Living in Midwest America, well... I'm kind of exposed to Southern accents a lot, and I actually kind of have one myself. And...well, something about Meiko's voice screams that she'd have a minor one, and my brain wouldn't let it go. Again, so sorry.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


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